Stitching machine



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E. G. WOLF STITCHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 7, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet l I In hren/ar uewe 0f April! 3Q, 1935. L 1,999,677

STITCHING MACHINE Filed Dec. 7, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 W e/7 for" Patented Apr. 30, 1935 PATENT OFFICE STITCHING Eugene G. Wolf, St. Louis, Mo., assignorto Landis Machine Company, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application December 7, 1931, Serial Nb. 579,610

12 Claims. (01. 112-361,

The invention relates to stitchers of the type used specially in shoe manufacturing for sewing, the soles to the uppers, and the invention is; particularly adopted for use on McKay stitchers.

The invention comprises all of the novel features described below and illustrated in the accompanying drawings and claimed herein.

One object of theinvention is to make it possible to stitch through the sole and the upper at apoint nearer to the' breast of the heelthan has been possible with lock stitch McKay machinesheretofore. I accomplish this object. by locating the needle intermediate the planes of the sides of the shuttle whereby only approximately half, of the thickness of the shuttle intervenes between the needle and the breast of the heel, whereas previously the entire thickness of the shuttle so intervenedand thereby limited. the

the needle without fraying or otherwise injurin the thread.

Other detailed objects of my invention incidental and supplemental to the above-mentioned objects will be apparent fromthe following specification and the accompanying illustrations, which Figure. l is-a front elevation of the machinewith a portion of the horn sectioned and showing the parts inside thereof.

Figure 1a shows the needle raised above the position in Figure 1 and pulling the locking thread upwardly. V

Figure 2 is a side elevation of themachine with a portion of the horn sectioned to illustrate mechanism Within the same.

Figure Bis an enlarged detail view of. the horn.- contained mechanism and. corresponds to the showing in Figure 1. I

Figure 4 is a horizontal section through the horn taken approximately on line 44 of Figure 3.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section through the forward portion of the shuttle with the adjacent thread separator also shown.

Figure 6 is a top View of the shuttle.

Figure 7 is a side view of the shuttle.

Figure 8 is a top view of some of the mechanism with parts sectioned for clearer illustration.

Figure 9 is a front elevation of the needle, presser footbar andwork feed mechanism drawn on an enlarged scale. i

Figure 10 is a side elevation of the same.

The. machine stand or frame. is indicated at 1 and mounts a head 2. on which the upper operating shaft 3 and mechanism operated thereby are carried. A. bracket 4 on frame 1 supports 5 the horn 5. which is freely rotatable about a vertical axis in line with the needle 6 driven by the head, mechanism. The needle bar 7 is reciprocatedvertically by the cam 8 on the operating shaft 3 throughjthe camlever sconnected tothe. 10 needle bar by a-link 10..

The drum-like shuttle II has a substantially circular peripheryfitting a stationary bearing 52 in which it is oscillated. by a cam 13 on the operating shaft 3,. which cam moves an ofisetlever 15 [4 having a tooth segment 'l5on its lower end meshingwith a pinionv l6 rigid with a gear l! which engages. teeth l8 on the left-hand periphery of. the shuttle H. Shuttle IE is hollow and receives a bobbin case 1.9 and a bobbin 2!! about which the, bobbin thread T' is wound. (Figs. 5 and 7.) p I The needle 6 may extend into a peripheral groove 21 in shuttle ll, andthroughout the are A .(Fig. '7 this groove is widened and deepened. as indicated at 22- (Fig. 6.) to receive. the needle bar I as the latter descends, with the shuttle stationary, for the needle to engage the thread L supplied. through the horn. At all I times the groove 2| receives'some portion of the structure comprising the needle and its bar. The peripheral wallv of the bobbin case I9 is also grooved somewhat at this point. This grooving of the shuttle andbobbin' case permits the needle to be located relatively close to the shuttle axis and the distance from the shuttle axis to the loop taking points 29 islessthan wouldbe required if the needle axis were more remote. Hence the shuttle diameter and the length of travel of the shuttle point are reduced accordingly.

As the needle ascends, drawing. the-looped horn thread upwardly (see Figures: 1a and 5) the two strands of thread indicated at S are separated by 'the point 23 of alever' 24: pivoted at 25 (Fig. 2)

and operated by a link 26 and a bell crank 21 instant the needle is stationary and the shuttle continues to rotate and the recess 30 therein engages the loop and lifts it upwardly from the needle barb without pulling the thread laterally of the barb which would tend to cut the strands of the thread. The thread moves from the needle over the shuttle, and the bobbin enclosed therein, to form a downwardly facing loop over the bobbin thread, which loop is later pulleddown by the take-up mechanism in the horn described later.

By bifurcating the shuttle as described and locating the needle and needle bar intermediate the sides of the shuttle, it is possible to bring the breast of the shoe heel much closer to theneedle than has been done previously in this type of machine and hence the sole may be sewedrearwardly of the shank and closer'to the heelthan has been possible heretofore. I

The work isfed into position for successive stitches by the mechanism best shown 'in Ffigures 8; 9 and 10. A bracket 33 on head 2 fulcrums an offset lever having an upper arm 34 carrying: a

roller 35positioned in the groove of the cam 36. The lower arm 37 of the lever is slotted between the lines 38, and a bushing 39 in the slot may be clamped'at different positions along arm 31- by the nut 55. A channel memberM-has astud42 journaled in bushing 39.' An arm 43 is pivoted on the end of head 2 by stud 45' and its upper end carries a block 65 which is slidable in channel member 4I A feeding lever 45 is pivoted at 4'? on the presser footbar 58 and a link 49 connects the upper ends of arm 53 and lever 46. A feed point I50 is pivoted on the lower end of lever 45, and a spring I! pulling upon the rear end of feed point I50, thrusts the forward end of the feedpoint down against the work, or towards the presser foot I52 7 if the work is removed. g

A downwardly facing stop element l53 on the lower end of the presser foot bar 48 may engage the rear end of the feed point tolimit the upward movement thereof and accordingly limit the downward movement of the front end of the feed wardly over the presser foot I52 and as the feed point moves to the left its spring I5I will thrust the point into the work. a

The adjustable mounting of member 41 in 38 with block 45 provides means for adjusting the length of the feeding movement of the point i541. If the bushing 39 is moved downwardly it increases the effective lengthof the lever arm 3i and the length of the movement transmitted to link 39. the opposite resultis obtained.

The feeding mechanism comprises a substantial part of the subject matter of a divisional and continuing application, Serial No. 607,305, filed April 25, 1932.

A spring I58 normally thrusts the presser foot against the work but the presser foot is positively lifted from the work when the toe 151 of cam I55 engages the roller end of lever I55 and moves the same to'tilt its outer end which,.with

the associated nut and block, forms a well-known lever arm 58 and the sliding engagement of member If the bushing is moved upwardly" device I54 for gripping and lifting the presser foot bar.

The horn thread L passes upwardly from a spool (not shown) through the wax pot 55 (Figs. 1 and 2) about a tension wheel 5|, spans the space between rollers 52 where it is engaged by the thread measuringhook 53, then passes through a hollow tube 54 over the locking roller 55 (Fig. 3) about the upper roller 56, then down and around the take-up roller 51 and then up to the usual whirl (not shown) located in the tip of the horn. The locking lever 58 is pivoted on the horn at 59 and its tip 65 is thrust against the thread on roller 55 by spring GI on the rod 53 connected to the lower end of lever 58.

The tension of the spring is adjusted by the nut 62.

The thread measuring hook 53 is on a shaft 64 having a crank '55 which is oscillatedw by a bar 55 pivoted on block 61 which is slidable in groove 68 in member 69 which is pivoted at to the frame bracket II and is oscillated by a cam 72. Rotation of the cam moves member 69 to the left of the positionshown in Figure 2 and then'to' the right, to reciprocate lever bar 66, thereby oscillating shaft G iand hook 53 to meas urethe thread for successive stitches.

During this operation, locking lever 58 is functioning to prevent any of the thread in the horn beingretracted therefrom instead of being drawn up from the source of supply. To prevent too free amovement of the thread by the measuring mechanism, a tension device is provided including thewheel 5i rotatably mounted on a stationary shaft Si and about which the thread L iswound one or more times. Wheel 5I is frictionallyheld against rotation by a collar 92 keyed on. shaft SI and forced against wheel 5I by spring S93; The tension of the spring may be adjusted by the nut 94 threaded on shaft SI. An auxiliary tension device isprovided in the horn comprising a pair of spaced rollers I I0, journaled on the horn frame, and a movable roller III journaled on a lever II2 pivoted at II 3 on the horn frame and held by the spring I I4 to tension the thread. Bar 65 extends rearwardly beyond block 51 and at its rear end is connected to the lower end of a vertical rod M connected to the rear end of by vary the distance which'bar 56 will be moved by cam 12 and accordingly the length of thread pulled from the source of supply by hook 53. a

The thread lock 58 is released by the take-up lever E5 which is operated by a cam ll mounted on the main shaft K and engaging one arm of a bell crank '13 pivoted at I9 on the bracket 4. The other arm of the 'bell crank engagesa'collar 80 slidable on the horn shaft 8i and carrying a bar 82 which is connected at its upper end to a' bellcrank 83 (Fig. 3)' pivoted at 84 and mounting a block 85 slidable in a groove 85 in take-up lever As cam i? tilts bell crank 18 from the position shown, the horizontal arm of the bell crank 18 moves upwardly lifting collar 85, bar 82, and bellcrank 83 which rotates block 85 and lever 16 in an anti-clockwise direction. The surface 81 on lever it forms a cam which engages roller 88 on looking lever 58 to move the locking lever tip 5!; fromthe locking roller 55. The take-up roller 5i rises, freeing the upper portion of thread L from tension which permits the thread to be.

- the presser foot release lever I5. Any variations 'in the thickness of the work will afl'ect the position of lever 15, rod I' l, and bar 66 so as to move block 61 in'its groove 58 in member 69 and there drawn up by the needle and shuttle as previously. described. 1

At the end of the upward movement of the needle and shuttle pointthe take-up lever 15 beginsto descend, whereupon the tensionof the Work on the upper portion of the thread results in the take-up roller drawing up the slack in the lower portion of the thread which has been pro vided by the thread measuring mechanism previously described. After this-slack has been drawn up, the cam surface 8? releases the locking lever roller 38 and tip 69 again engages the thread on the locking roller Furtherdescent of the take-up lever it draws downthe slack in the upper portion of the thread and pulls the stitch tight in the work.

The following mechanism provides for manual release of the horn thread and the withdrawal of the work from the machine at any point in the cycle of operation of the machine. An ordinary treadle (not shown) is pivoted to the base of frame l and a pull rod 95 (Figs. 1 and 2) extends from the treadle to a lever 96 pivoted on the frame at 9'3. The rear end of lever 96 has an adjustable stud 98 engaging a shoulder 99 on the rear end of bar 66 whereby depression of the treadle will lift the presser foot.

A shoulder ii'iil near the forward end of lever 55 engages a stud let on the outer end of a lever i132 pivoted at M3. The forward end of lever Hi2 engages a block H5 on the lower end of tube 54 which is arranged to engage the underside of a lug ltd (Fig. 3) on locking lever 58 to lift the latter from thread locking position as shown in Figure 3.

At the same time the thread tension is released by rod Q5, operating through a lever I pivoted at E96 with its forward end adapted to engage the lower portion of a yoke M7 pivoted on a depending bracket H38 and having studs I09 engaging the rear flange on collar 92 whereby the latter may be moved against the pressure of spring 33 to relieve the tension wheel 5! of friction. The thread take-up, lock and measuring mechanism comprise the subject matter of a divisional application, Serial No. 620,660, filed July 2, 1932.

The various detail mechanisms described above cooperate to producea lock stitch machine which operates satisfactorily, having reference particularly to the attainment of the objects set forth at the beginning of this specification. Obviously, many features'may be used in stitchers other than the McKay type and some features may be omitted in McKay or other stitchers without negativing the use of other features, and all of the details may be varied without departing from the spirit of my invention, and I contemplate the exclusive use of all modifications of the described structure coming within the scope of my claims.

What is claimed is: g

1. In a machine of the class described, a drumlike shuttle with its axis disposed horizontally, a bobbin within said shuttle, the sides of the shuttle projecting radially a substantial distance beyond I the edge of said bobbin, and a vertically reciproeating structure comprising a needle and needle bar positioned to pass between said shuttle sides Til ' tically reciprocating needle, a hornbelow the same, means for supplying a thread loop through said horn to the point of said needle to bedrawn upwardly by the later, a spreader element-haw- 'ing a pointarranged to be projected between the strands of said loop transversely of the path ofthe needle and below the point of the latter as it is raised and then withdrawn, and a drum-like shuttle with its axis disposed horizontally and its periphery bifurcated circumferentially toreceive the needle and recessed transversely toform a hook with spaced points arranged to be projected into the path of the needle point andabove said spreader so as toengage the looped thread and carry it over the body of the shuttle.

3. A stitcher drum-like shuttle having a. cire cular periphery for engaging a supportingbearing, said periphery having a circumferential groove for receiving the point of a needle, 2. bobbin and a bobbin case within said shuttle, the sides of said shuttle projecting radially beyond the'edge of said bobbin case, the peripheral walls of said shuttle and case each being removed at least in part throughout an arcuate portion to provide for the passage of a needle adjacent to said bobbin case.

(1. In a machine of the class described, a drumlike shuttle having a circumferential groove in its periphery, a needle reciprocating in said groove, and a thread loop spreader member having a point projected at intervals below the point of said needle and into said groove.

5. A structure as set forth in claim 4 in which there is a transverse recess in said drum periphery forming a hook with spaced points for engaging the thread loop opened by said spreader and carrying the same over the shuttle.

6. In combination, a stitcher drum-like shuttle, a drum-like bobbin case within said shuttle and a bobbin in said case, a portion of the peripheral wall of said shuttle being cut away and the adjacent portion of the peripheral wall of said bobbin case being grooved to provide for the passage of a needle bar immediately adjacent to the edge of said bobbin.

7. In a machine of the class described, a shuttle oscillating about its axis and having a peripheral groove, and a needle reciprocating in said groove, said shuttle having a transverse recess extending inwardly from its periphery and, with said groove, forming a split hook for entering the loop of a thread engaged by said needle, the inner end of said recess engaging the loop of said thread and moving it away from the needle barb in a direction parallel with the needle axis and then carrying the thread over the shuttle.

8. In a machine of the class described, a shuttle oscillating about its axis and having a transverse recess forming a thread engaging hook and also having a peripheral groove bifurcating said hook in a plane transverse to said axis, and a needle reciprocating in said groove.

9. In a machine of the class described, a work support, means for feeding a lower thread upwardly therethrough, a hook needle mounted above said work support and descending through the same to engage said thread, anosciIIating shuttle journaled above said work support and serving to take the loop of said lower thread, formed by said needle from the same while said needle is moving upwardly, anda bobbin for an upper thread in said shuttle, said needle reciprocating in a plane, intermediate the planes of the sides of said bobbin.

10. In a machine of the class described, a drumlike shuttle having a peripheral groove, a reciprocating hook needle extending into said groove and forming a thread loop upon its upward movement, said shuttle having a loop taking point, and means actuating said shuttle and needle so that while said needle is moving upwardly and While its hook is in said groove said point overtakes said hook in its upward move- -ment to lift the loop from said hook and then moves rearwardly from the hook to pass the loop over the body of the shuttle.

11. In a machine of the class described, a work support, means for feeding a lower thread upwardly therethrough, a shuttle having a circular periphery for engaging a circular bearing, said shuttle oscillating about its axis and having a peripheral groove, a bobbin case in said shuttle, and structure comprising a needle and needle bar reciprocating in said groove in a line exterior of said case and including a hook descending past said shuttle to engage said thread.

12. In a machine of the class described, a shoe supporting horn, a vertically reciprocating structure comprising a needle and needle bar arranged I 

